Sachin Tendulkar

"I've said forever Sachin's technically the best batter that I've ever seen and played with or against. Whatever plan that we came up with as a bowling group, he found a way to combat it, whether it was in India or Australia."It's hard to rank and judge players as everyone is different and everyone plays the game differently. But certainly, through the generation that I played, he was technically the best player that I saw," said Ponting in an episode of 'The ICC Review' show on the eve of Tendulkar's 50th birthday.

Tendulkar won the World Cup, innumerable Man of the Match and Series awards, scored the first-ever ODI double ton, made the highest number of centuries, the highest number of runs, most caps for the country... he did it all but his critics, which are very less in numbers, also keep reminding fans about his failures on big days.

Nevertheless, there are some fans who have taken their adoration to a whole new level by going to great lengths to demonstrate their devotion. Sachin's bat has been like a mystical instrument that has captivated and entranced the fans, compelling them to become his ardent supporters. One of those fans is none other than legendary singer late Lata Mangeshkar.

What the greatest playwright of English meant was that some people are born great and don't have to work for it; others have to work hard and find greatness while the third group comprises those who are blessed by fate and are allowed to be great in a surprising manner. But there is one more category that is born great but nurtures their prodigious talent and by the sheer dint of their hard work enhance their greatness and become the greatest of them all. And then they even surpass that stage and become demigods.

Gavaskar spotted the similarities between Arjun and his legendary dad and even termed the junior Tendulkar as a thinking cricketer. Speaking on Star Sports Cricket Live, Gavaskar said, "Everybody talks about the amazing talent Sachin Tendulkar had at the start of his career. But it was his temperament that was absolutely amazing.

With 20 runs to defend off the final over, Rohit Sharma handed the ball to Tendulkar to bowl the last over. And the youngster held his nerve, nailed his yorkers, picked up his maiden IPL wicket, that of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and conceded just five runs as SRH were bowled out for 178 and MI sealed the win by 14 runs. After the 23-year-old's last over heroics, appreciation tweets flooded in as the likes of Virender Sehwag, Ian Bishop, Mohammad Kaif showered their words of praise for the youngsters.

Arjun, who marked his IPL debut on Sunday in the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium. It also made him and Sachin become the first father-son pair to have featured in the tournament. However, the 23-year-old went wicketless on his debut as he ended the game with figures of 0/17 in his two overs.

Batting first, MI put up a challenging 192/5 with Cameron Green scoring 64 off 40 deliveries (6x4, 2x6), coupled with a strong outing from Tilak Varma (37 runs; 17b, 2x4, 4x6) and Ishan Kishan (38 runs, 31b, 3x4, 2x6). Opener Mayank Agarwal led SRH's chase with 48 runs (41b, 4x4, 1x6), but regular fall of wickets set the hosts back eventually. Meanwhile, pace bowler Arjun Tendulkar took his first IPL wicket, getting rid of Bhuvneshwar Kumar as SRH were bowled out for 178 in 19.5 overs.

Arjun became the first son to play for the same Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise that his father Sachin Tendulkar represented for many years. Opening the bowling, the left-arm seamer conceded five runs in his first over. He made a strong appeal for lbw against Jagadeesan but was turned down by the umpire as it looked like the ball would go over the stumps.

Arjun, a left-arm seamer all-rounder, made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium here. Opening the bowling, Arjun conceded five runs in his first over. He made a strong appeal for lbw against Jagadeesan but was turned down by the umpire as it looked like the ball would go over the stumps.